Is it possible to run both the client and server elements of OpenVAS on a Windows 7 laptop? Or realistically do you need a server, if you need a server, can you elaborate why? I have never used either Nessus or OpenVAS (am very new to this area of work but for follow ups to external pen tests it would be useful to have an armoury of these vulnerability scanners on a device). If it is possible to run both the client/server elements of OpenVAS from a laptop, can you provide a basic list of what needs installing, and in what order?

I haven't run it in Windows, but I run both the server and the client on a Linux laptop. The server is was actually does the scanning, and the client just manages the server. You can use OpenVAS-Client to manage a OpenVAS-Server, remotely or locally.

It doesn't look like OpenVAS-Server is supported on Windows (there is a Greenbone package available for the client only), so you will need a different place to run the server from, maybe a Linux VM would do the trick for you. You then have the option of running the client from the VM, or from Windows.